I’ll call out Moscow at G20, says Sunak

RISHI SUNAK has vowed to “call out” Vladimir Putin at the G20 as he said next week’s summit would not be “business as usual”.

The Prime Minister will travel to Indonesia next week for the annual conference, where Britain has encouraged allies to stage walkouts when the Moscow delegation speaks.

The Russian regime will be represented by Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister, after the Kremlin confirmed Mr Putin would not travel to the summit but may still take part via video link.

Mr Sunak said: “Putin’s war has caused devastation around the world – destroying lives and plunging the international economy into turmoil.

“This G20 summit will not be business as usual. We will call out Putin’s regime, and lay bare their utter contempt for the kind of international cooperation and respect for sovereignty forums like the G20 represent.

“In [contrast] to Putin’s disruption, the UK and our allies will work together to make meaningful progress solving the economic challenges we face and making lives better for our people.”

Downing Street said Mr Sunak would use the G20 to continue to build “regional alliances rooted in our values”, citing the Aukus defence pact with the US and Australia.

It is the largest international meeting to take place in the Indo-Pacific region for three years, and No10 described the area as “increasingly important” to global prosperity.

Although Ukraine is not a member of the bloc, Volodymyr Zelensky, the country’s president, is expected to appear virtually as a special guest.